Hair curler



April 1939- J. A. MURDOCK 2,154,179

HAIR CURLER Filed May 27, 1938 Patented Apr. 11, 1939 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE 2,154,179 HAIR CURLER James A. Murdock, Chicago, Ill.

Application May 27, 1938, Serial No. 210,310.

6 Claims.

This invention relates to hair curlers and has for its principal objectthe provision of an improved hair curler which is simple inconstruction, economical to manufacture, and easily adjusted by theuser.

According to the present invention I provide a hair curler comprising abar on which the curl may be wound. I prefer to employ a suitablegripper whereby one end of the curl may be secured to the bar. I alsoprovide means for preventing the curl from unwinding, which means isadjustable with respect to the curling bar, and nevertheless, is adaptedtoremain in any desired relation thereto.

I prefer to employ a hollow curling bar. As the means for preventinguncurling I prefer to employ a lock member having two principalportions, one of which is adapted to extend into the hollow bar, theother being adapted to extend along the exterior of the bar to bearagainst the hair or head of the user. The portion of the lock memberwhich is inserted into the hollow bar is arranged to have a rotationresisting engagement with the interior of the bar so that it tends toremain in any position into which it is moved. For this purpose the lockmember is preferably formed of spring stock and the portion insertedinto the hollow bar is deformed so that it resiliently engages oppositesides of the bore.

The invention will readily be understood from the following descriptionof a preferred embodiment thereof, taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawing, in which,

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a woman's head with the hair curlersin curling relation thereon;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view through a curler embodying myinvention with the lock member omitted; I r

Fig. 3 is an elevational view of the lock member;

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view similar to Fig. 2, with the lockmember in operative relation thereto;

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 55 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 66 of Fig. 4illustrating one method of using the curler;

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 6 illustrating another method of usingthe curler; and

Fig. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a modified lock member.

Referring to the drawing, the reference numeral I0 designates a curlingbar on which the hair is to be wound. The bar is hollow and may suitablybe formed of metal stock, which is perforated for the sake of lightnessand to allow free circulation of air about the curl to hasten drying.The tubular bar III has pivotally mounted thereon by means of a pivot II, a gripping member I2, which preferaby is of similar material and isof arcuate section conforming to the exterior of the bar I0 upon whichit normally lies. Be-

yond the pivot II the bar III and gripping member I2 are provided withextensions or handles I3 and I4. These handles are normally pressedapart by a spring I5 so that the gripping member I2 is normally forcedagainst the bar I0.

When the handles I3 and I4 are manually pressed together the grippingmember I2 is moved away from the bar I0, as shown in dotted lines inFig. 2, so that the end of a strand of hair may be located between thegripping member and bar. When the handles I3 and I4 are released thespring I5 returns the gripping member I2 to initial position and thestrand of hair is firmly. gripped to the bar Ill.

The strand of hair may now be wound up toany desired extent by simplyrotating the bar I0, I

and it is then held in that condition by the looking member I6 whichwill now be described.

The locking member I6 comprises two legs 11,

at least one of which is adapted to be inserted within the hollow bar I0so as to establish resist ance to relative rotation between the bar andlocking member. The other leg is so adapted to extend along the exteriorof the bar III so as to overlie the wound curl and engage the wearershair or scalp. I prefer to make the lock member I6 symmetrical so thateither of its legs Il may be used for either purpose.

As shown in Fig. 3, the lock member I6 may suitably be formed from fiatspring stock. The two legs I! are connected by a kinked end member I8which serves both as a return bend connecting the two legs I1 and as aconvenient handle portion whereby the lock member It may be manipulated.

Each or either leg I! is arranged to provide an inherent rotationresisting relation with the interior of the bar I0, when insertedtherein. Thus the legs I'I may be bowed so that portions thereofresiliently bear against opposite sides of the interior of the bar asshown in Fig. 4. This inherent resistance of the leg I! and the bar II]to relative rotation may be increased in various ways. Thus burrs I9 orother formations may be provided on the interior of the bar for thepurpose of resisting but not preventing relative rotation between thebar and the lock member.

When the curl is wound up on the bar l0 one of the legs I1 is insertedinto the bar I0 and the other leg I1 is brought into overlying relationto the curl. The lock member I6 is then rotated to desired positionrelative to the bar l0 and it then holds that position indefinitely. Theability of the member I6 to maintain that position is not dependent uponthe frictional engagement of the outer leg I! with a large curl. Itdepends primarily upon the inherent resistance to rotation which theinserted leg I! has with the tube In.

The improved curler may, therefore, be used with curls of very smallvolume, and moreover it may be used for curling the ends or outer partsof strands of hair as well as complete strands. Thus, as shown in Fig.6, the outer leg I! engages a partially wound up strand of hair 20.Since the inserted leg I] is inherently resistant to rotation within thebar [0, the relation shown in Fig. 6 is maintained indefinitely. Asshown in Fig. 7 the strand may be completely wound up and the curler maybe maintained in the relation shown by the engagement of the wearersneck or scalp by the outer leg H.

The improved curler may also be used with the lock member IS in placewith respect to the bar Iii during the winding of the curl. Whenoperating in this manner the lock member 46 is manually held againstrotation when the strand of hair is being wound up on the bar to, Whenthe winding is completed the outer leg l1 bearing against the head orhair of the user prevents unwinding of the curl.

In Fig. 8 I have shown a further embodiment of the invention in which alock member 2| is employed. This lock member, which may be formed from aspring strip, comprises two outer legs 22, an intermediate length 23located between and in generally parallel relation to said legs, and apair of return bends 24 connecting opposite ends of said intermediatelength 23 to one of the outer legs 22.

As shown in Fig. 8, one of the return bends 24 is inserted into thehollow bar iii, thus 10- cating the intermediate length 23 and one ofthe legs 22 within the bar. The return bends 24 are such that the length23 and the inserted leg 22 are resiliently pressed against the innersurface of the bar l0. It will be understood that this embodiment of theinvention operates precisely like the previously described embodiment,the outer leg 22 functioning in the same manner as the outer leg I! ofthe embodiment previously described.

Although the invention has been described in connection with thespecific details of a preferred embodiment thereof, it must beunderstood that such details are not intended to be limitative of theinvention except in so far as set forth in the accompanying claims.

Having thus described my invention, I declare that what I claim is:

1. A hair curler comprising a hollow bar on which a strand of hair maybe wound, and a lock member adapted to maintain the strand in woundcondition, comprising an exterior arm adapted to overlie the curl and aportion extending into said bar and having an inherent rotationresisting relation therewith.

2. A hair curler comprising a hollow bar on which a strand of hair maybe wound, and a lock member adapted to maintain the strand in woundcondition, comprising an exterior arm adapted to overlie the curl and aportion extending into said bar and having an inherent rotationresisting engagement with opposite sides of the interior of the hollowbar.

3. A hair curler comprising a hollow bar on which a strand of hair maybe wound, gripping means for securing an end of said strand to the barand a lock member adapted to maintain the strand in wound condition,comprising an exterior arm adapted to overlie the curl and a portionextending into said bar and having an inherent rotation resistingrelation therewith.

4. A hair curler comprising a hollow bar on which a strand of hair maybe wound, and a lock member having two generally parallel resilient legsand means connecting them, said members being symmetrical and either ofsaid legs being adapted to be inserted into said hollow bar so as tohave an inherent rotation resisting relation therewith.

5. A hair curler comprising a hollow bar on which a strand of hair maybe wound, a gripping member extending along said bar, a pivot securingsaid bar and gripping member together, handle extensions on said bar andmember on one side of said pivot, a spring engaging said handles andbiasing said member towards said bar, and a lock member having a portionadapted to be inserted into said bar to establish a rotation resistingrelation therewith and a portion overlying the exterior of the bar.

6. A hair curler comprising a hollow bar on which a strand of hair maybe wound, and a lock member comprising two outer legs, an intermediatelength therebetween and a pair of return bends connecting the ends ofsaid intermediate member to said legs, either of said return bends beingadapted to be inserted into said hollow bar in such manner that theintermediate length and the adjacent leg are resilicntly forced againstthe interior of the bar, whereby the member is resistantly held againstrotation with the outer leg in overlying relation to the bar.

JAMES A. MURDOCK.

